


Xenoship Week One-Shots

by tbat



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: (it is going to be most of them), F/M, M/M, Some Fluff, Some angst, basically just whatever the hell i felt like going with for the prompt, place your bets on how many of these are pyrex, tags will get updated as necessary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-07 15:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18413123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbat/pseuds/tbat
Summary: A bunch of one-shots based on prompts. Theoretically updated daily but yeah we'll see how that pans out.Day 1: Smile (Pyrex)Day 2: Red (Panzeke)Day 3: Stars (Pyrex)Day 4: Rain (Panzeke)





	1. Day One- Smile

**Author's Note:**

> henlo yes so on the xenoblade fanfic hell server we've got some prompts happening for the next week and i guess now i have to Actually Die churning out a bunch of rapid fire pyrex. thanks for dooming me architect

Pyra wasn't used to seeing someone smile at her. Not like this, anyway.

In the brief time she'd spent with him, all those years ago, Addam would occasionally glance her way and force one out, his lips barely dragging themselves out of the almost permanent grimace he'd adopted ever since... _it_  had happened. Those had seemed just as much for  _him_ as they'd been for her, though, like he was trying to convince himself there was still  _something_ left for him to be happy about. There had been almost no warmth behind it. Just a token effort at reassuring her, his eyes betraying the obvious, palpable mix of fear and pity that tinged his every interaction with her.

But Rex was  _different_. When he smiled at her, she couldn't see a single trace of fear in his expression, no indication that he felt anything other than genuine happiness when he looked at her like that.

And that...meant a lot to her. Much more than she ever would have expected it to. She found herself looking forward to it, every day. Looking forward to just...being around Rex. Talking to him, fighting alongside him, seeing all the different ways he'd smile at her that day.

His wide, cheery beams when she emerged from her inn room in the morning, enthusiastically waving her over to the rest of the group. The small, gentle smiles, followed by a quiet, sincere "thanks" as she finished tending to his injuries of the days- injuries that inevitably were mirrored on her own body, and which he'd always help her with in turn.

Even when she unleashed her fire- a pale imitation of Mythra's full power, but still a destructive force in its own right- Rex would simply grin in awe, his eyes wide with wonder at her strength. Nothing like the almost instinctive flinches Addam would show whenever she had so much as created a simple flame to cook with.

No matter what happened, Rex just kept on smiling, his eyes always shining brightly whenever he looked at her.

It made Pyra feel like he actually, wholeheartedly  _cared_ about her. Wasn't  _afraid_ of her. Saw her as something more than an Aegis, didn't define her by her power the way she- and everyone else- did.

He just liked her for who she was.

And knowing that someone cared about  _her_ , not just what she was capable of, was...comforting. For the first time in her existence, Pyra felt genuinely happy. All the sorrow, the lonelieness, the guilt, the pain at her mere existence, none of that felt like it mattered anymore.

With Rex, she was happy. With Rex, she had a Driver who trusted her, and who she could trust in return. With Rex, she had someone who would look at her with a completely carefree smile, like the power her and Mythra held would never even cross his mind without prompting.

With Rex, maybe, just maybe...she had someone she could love, and who would love her back.

But of course, deep down, she knew it was all fleeting. Before long every ounce of fear she'd managed to ignore would come creeping back in, reminding her of exactly what lurked inside of her, of what it had already caused. Of exactly what she needed to do.

She wished it didn't have to be this way. That she and Mythra had never been granted that kind of power, a power that had no purpose other than destruction neither of them ever wanted to have happen again.

As much as it hurt her, she knew that, for the sake of the world- for  _Rex-_ she couldn't stay with him.

But until then, she'd treasure every single smile.


	2. Day 2: Red- Panzeke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you just read literally the same prompt about the same ship with the same headcanon from kawaiiboushi i'd like to assure you this bullshit was mutually arrived at after hours of intense research/screaming at screenshots of random tantalese npcs before we arrived at "YES HE CAN HAVE RED EYES"

There weren't many on Alrest, mortal or immortal, who had been granted the privilege to gaze upon the Eye of Shining Justice in its full glory. Ignoring just about everybody in Theosoir Palace, who'd spent a solid fifteen years around an eyepatch-less Zeke and had a pretty good idea of what it looked like, anyway. But that was  _before_ he'd awakened to the Eye's true power. It didn't count.

_Now,_ though, with his full understanding of the dangers the Eye posed to the world, Zeke had done the sensible thing and sealed it away, its power locked behind an impregnable barrier cunningly disguised as a simple eyepatch. Only those who had earnt his utmost trust, had proven their virtue and their mental and physical fortitude, could so much as catch a glimpse of it in their peripheral vision.

Pandoria was proud to call herself one of those elite few. She, and she alone, had been chosen to shoulder his burden, to act as a pillar of support for the Bringer of Chaos as he marched down his long, arduous path.

Plus, it meant she was pretty much the only person who ever got to see both of his eyes, which she considered a nice bonus.

It didn't happen often. Even when he slept, Zeke preferred keeping the eyepatch on, "just in case." But sometimes, when they were  _absolutely sure_ they were alone, and that nobody else was going to burst in and snap a photo of him like a paparazzi, he'd...take the eyepatch off. He'd let her see the Eye of Shining Justice in all its glory.

If she was being objective about it, it was kinda underwhelming.

He had two eyes. Wow. Stop the presses. For all the speeches about it that they'd spent countless nights perfecting, the Eye of Shining Justice really just looked like any other eye. A perfectly ordinary red eye.

Sure, nobody else knew it was red- that  _both_ of his eyes were red, and that he'd spent the last decade using the same old coloured contact lens to hide that he was Tantalese royalty, but plenty of Tantalese had red eyes. Hell, his mother had red eyes. It was nothing special.

But being the only one he ever showed those red eyes to made  _her_ feel special. This was something nobody else was ever allowed to see, a side of him he only ever felt comfortable showing her.

Nobody else would ever get to see Zeke Von Genbu, Bringer of Chaos and walking vortex of Drama, take off his eyepatch, lay it next to a single contact lens on their room's desk, and look at them with  _both_ of his  _normal_ ,  _red eyes_. It was just for her.

It was almost like seeing him take off the mask, drop the whole Bringer of Chaos persona- not that how he acted really changed all that much. He was still as dumb and loud and funny and wonderful as he always was, but it felt...that tiny bit more genuine. Vulnerable, in a way. No titles, no performance, just  _him,_ and she was the only one he trusted with that sight.

Every time it happened, Pandoria always found herself staring into his eyes almost constantly, pretty much incapable of looking away from such a rare sight. She  _wanted_ to think about how captivated she was by their deep, fiery crimson, how they sparkled with the same exuberance that inspired all of his grand-standing and joking around, and yet, only in those moments, belied a sorrow for the plight of his people, a deep yearning desire to find some path to a brighter future for them.

She  _wanted_ to, but then he'd always say "getting lost in my eyes, eh? Can't blame you, Pandy," with a big, stupid grin on his face and  _ruin the moment._ But then again, the fact that he always ruined the moment was sort of why she loved him so much.

Soon enough, though, the contact lens would always be put back in place, the eyepatch donned again, and the Eye of Shining Justice safely contained. Those red eyes would be hidden away from the rest of the world, and only Pandoria would be trusted with the sight of them.

Truth be told, she was fine with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also gonna slyly plug the xenoblade hell server here because it's NEVER TOO LATE to come die writing out these prompts: https://discord.gg/SD2XWQ7


	3. Day 3: Stars (Pyrex)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha "daily" what does that mean 
> 
> OKAY SO things did not exactly go as planned and my xenoship week contributions are all gonna be pretty late BUT IT'S FINE they're gonna all come out eventually. here is some absolutel maximum cheese to give you a lactose overdose, i am Not Sorry.

"C'mon, it's just over here!" Rex said, pointing towards a cliff edge on the outskirts of Fonsett, an outcrop that raised above and away from most of the rest of the land into a thinner point. Pyra followed close behind him, treading careful steps in the dark as she used the faint glow of her own outfit to guide her. Her brow furrowed in concern as she looked up at their destination.

"You went up  _there_ as a child? It looks a little...unsafe," she said, mind involuntarily flashing with images of Rex tumbling off the side and incurring a collection of serious injuries that she'd rather not have to contemplate. It wasn't exactly  _likely,_ especially since she could always just grab hold of him if she saw him slip, but still. You never know. Maybe Zeke's luck with hazardous terrain had rubbed off on him.

"Aw, it's not so bad. If you fall off, you can swim back to the shore no problem," he responded with a flippant shrug.

"Still..." she murmured, eyes still on the cliff and all of the deadly gravity that surrounded it.

"You're not gonna fall off, Pyra, honest," Rex said. Placing his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out a little in a doomed attempt to look impressive, his face lit up in a confident grin. "And even if you do, I'll just dive in and help you out! Nothing to worry about."

Pyra's face reddened a little, an affectionate smile on her lips. Rex's Cool, Confident Poses had been meticulously engineered to be highly effective on Pyra and Pyra alone, her personal interpretation of him about ten times more dashing than the reality.

"Thank you, Rex. That's very kind of you. But, uh...It's not me I was worried about."

Rex stared at her, his face blank, before breaking out into a brief chuckle as it clicked in his head.

"C'mon, Pyra, I'm a  _salvager_ , remember?I think I know how to swim." His expression softened into a smile, hoping to reassure her. "It'll be fine, alright?"

He waved his arm, beckoning her to keep following him.

"If you say so," she said, sighing, but still smiling. His own smile widening into a satisfied grin for a moment, Rex turned and resumed guiding her to the cliff, with Pyra quickly following.

The remainder of the walk passed in silence, until they reached the edge. Rex plopped down onto the grass, his legs dangling off the side and lightly scuffing the rock below him as he kicked them aimlessly. He patted a spot next to him, inviting Pyra to join him. With slow, careful movements, she lowered herself down and sat by him, tucking her legs away from the edge as she did so. Once she was settled, Rex glanced over to her and spoke.

"I used to sneak out here a lot, as a kid. Just to...stargaze, y'know?" he said, gesturing at the dark sky in front of them, illuminated by the hundreds of stars dotting every inch of it. Most prominent, though, was the World Tree, looming directly in front of them and stretching beyond the clouds, its ever-present green aura far brighter than the stars surrounding it.

"I never told anyone else about it. It was kind of just...another little secret spot for me, I guess. But..." he looked over to her with sheepish smile, "I figured I'd show it to you. I thought you might like it here."

Truth be told, Rex had been waiting for an opportunity to do something like this with Pyra for a while now. She'd never really  _talked_ about it, but Rex couldn't help but notice Pyra's fondness for views like this.

Whenever they came across a particularly scenic spot, even if they'd had no choice but to hurry through without really taking anything in, Pyra's eyes always seemed to light up in joy at the sight, however fleeting. Even earlier that day, during their trek across Leftheria to reach Fonsett, he'd caught glimpses of her fascinated expression as she gazed off into the distance, watching the Titans that served as the Archipelago's islands drifting to and fro.

So, he figured Pyra would like getting to take her time and properly enjoy the view for once. No destination to rush towards, no monsters to watch out for. Just a calm, peaceful moment that could last as long as she wanted. All things considered, Pyra really deserved an opportunity to just  _relax,_ in between all the fighting.

His chance to finally let her have a moment like this arriving at Fonsett, where pretty much anything was going to hold a lot of personal significance to him, was a pretty good stroke of luck as well. It felt far more  _personal,_ to share another little piece of his childhood with her. One that Gramps couldn't then ruin by rushing in with a fully illustrated collection of every embarrassing thing he did in or around this area, too, so really, it was pretty much perfect.

Judging by her face, with her mouth hanging very slightly open in wonder and her eyes a pair of burning crimson suns, shining with an intense, pure awe at the sight before her, she seemed to think so too.

Rex found himself far more interested in  _her_ than the view he'd taken her to see, his eyes staring into hers even as she was looking away from him, seemingly unaware of his gaze fixed solely on her. She really was  _beautiful_ \- even more so when she was so content, so filled with wholehearted happiness.

Pyra glanced over to Rex, the amazement in her eyes quickly melting into a look of gratitude as she smiled at him. With a quick blink and a shake of his head, Rex attempted to pry himself out of the Gawking At Pyra he had been quietly enjoying for the past five minutes, although the gentle affection of her current expression wasn't really helping matters.

"This is...beautiful, Rex," she said in an almost reverential whisper, like she thought talking too loudly would be disrespectful towards the landscape in front of them.

"S-So, uh...So you like it, then?" he responded, a hand instinctively reaching up and scratching the back of his head to calm his embarrassed fidgeting.

"I do," she said with a nod. "Thank you for bringing me here. It's...It's wonderful."

"Don't mention it. Just...enjoy yourself, okay? You deserve it."

Pyra didn't respond, simply widening her smile the exact extra amount necessary to completely melt Rex's heart before turning her attention back towards the sky, her head craning up a little further than before. Rex decided to follow suit this time, joining her in gazing at the stars above them, rather than at, well,  _her._

Silence fell between them as they stared into the darkness, their eyes struggling to take in the myriad stars outlining the World Tree. Even after all these years, Rex still found himself captivated by the sight, and he was glad Pyra felt the same way. It was just one more little thing they'd shared together, one more thing to strengthen their bond.

He kept on stargazing, half taking in the sight and half thinking of all the things he wanted to show her while they were still in Fonsett. She'd met Corrine, met most of the kids, he'd taken her to his parents, to  _both_ of his secret spots now...What else was there? They probably couldn't stay much longer, so he'd have to come up with something quickly, before they left-

Something brushed across the top of his hand, completely derailing his planning as he jolted slightly at the unexpected sensation. The shock quickly faded, though, turning to simple confusion. It was hardly an  _unpleasant_ feeling- a warm, slow stroke across the back of his hand as a weight came to rest on top of it, but it was still...a surprise. Lowering his head, Rex looked down towards his hand, curious as to what was lying on his hand.

It was Pyra's hand, her fingers gripping lightly onto the sides of hiw own hand as it sat on top.

His breathing hitched for an instant as his eyes darted between his hand, which, incidentally,  _still had Pyra's hand on top of it_ , and Pyra herself, her eyes still focused forward without so much as sneaking a glance his way.

He swallowed hard, his face flaring up a bright red as his heart rate soared.

Pyra was holding his hand.  _Pyra_ was  _holding his hand._

Was it an accident? It couldn't have been. If it was, she would've already moved her hand away. Knowing Pyra, she probably would've apologized a couple of times for it to boot. So that meant it had to have been on  _purpose,_ which implied Rex was someone she wanted to hold hands and stargaze with, which was definitely the opinion he held of  _her_ , and he hadn't really mentally prepared himself for the possibility that she felt the same way. Certainly not for actually... _saying_ anything about it. Not right now, anyway.

But then, maybe he didn't need to say anything. And it  _was_ pretty nice, having Pyra's hand on his, the warmth exuding from it contrasting pleasantly with the cool night air. He didn't particularly want that feeling to go away. So, maybe he could do something that would show he was, well...receptive to whatever feelings she was trying to convey.

Forcing his eyes skyward again, Rex spread his fingers out, creating a gap between each of them. Pyra's own hand shifted for a moment in response to the movement, but he quickly felt that same warm sensation slide into the gaps he had left for her, her fingers interlacing with his. He closed what gap remained, tightening both of their grips on the other.

Neither of them spoke. Neither of them dared to even look towards the other. They simply sat together, illuminated in the twilight by the glow of their shared goal looming in front of them, their hands firmly entwined. And maybe, for now, that would be enough.


	4. Day 4- Rain (Panzeke)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point i'm only calling these chapters "days" to clown on myself and my own absolutely awful scheduling

"Bah! Look at that. Just our bloody luck!" Zeke exclaimed, waving an arm in exasperation at the seemingly endless deluge of rain just outside the cave they'd made camp in the night before.

"Yikes," Pandoria said, already dreading stepping out of the relative safety of their kinda damp, kinda smelly shelter. At least there was only so much water in all the moss. "It's really pouring down out there, huh?"

"You can say that again. Pain in the arse, rain. What good's it ever done anyone?" Zeke pouted, plopping down on a small mat laid just outside their tent.

"What, you mean other than all those plants it helps grow?"

"Well,  _we_ aren't plants, are we? My point stands."

"Sure, sure," she replied with a dismissive shrug, deciding it was way too early in the morning for the 'My Prince this is literally how the rain cycle works' debate. "What happened to you, anyway? You used to love rain."

Zeke gawked at her in horror, like she'd just accused him of having extremely uncool, unintimidating titles, a grave betrayal from his closest companion that he hadn't endured since at least last week.

"Me? Loving rain? Did you not get enough sleep, Pandy? We can always sneak in a couple extra hours, maybe the rain will have pissed off by then."

"What, you don't remember? C'mon, it was  _way_ back when we first...y'know,  _left,_ " she said, attempting to dance around That Whole Exile Thing without stepping on the toes of Zeke's painful memories. The grimace that flickered onto his face for an instant told her she'd still managed to clip a toe with her heel.

"I...try not to think about those days too much. But it  _does_ ring a bell. Gormott, right?"

Pandoria nodded, a smile that was a mixture of fondness and smug mockery already forming on her lips at the memory.

"Yep. We'd just gotten off the ship, and it was raining...about as heavy as today, actually," she said, glancing towards the downpour rudely insisting on making their day more awkward. "You ran out and started yelling 'Pandy,  _look,_ it's not  _frozen_!' like a huge dumbass-"

"Oi! I'd never even  _seen_ rain before until then! I think you can allow The Mini-Zekenator a bit of child-like wonder."

"Yeah, sure. Was the part where you insisted on staying out there for like, two hours, just standing around getting soaked child-like wonder, too?"

"Yes," Zeke huffed. "I'll have you know I was savouring the moment."

"Hope the cold was worth it."

"It was, thank you."

Pandoria snorted in response, "And now look at you. Sitting in a cave, yelling at clouds. Novelty wore off, huh?"

"One drenching was enough for me to get the picture. Besides, you're one to talk. Can't imagine an electric Blade gets along all that swimmingly with that kind of rain," Zeke said.

Pandoria chose not to laugh at his masterfully integrated pun, causing his face to fall from an expectant grin straight back into pouting. Unfortunately, he was right, so she still had to at least acknowledge it.

"Yeah, I guess not. Messes with my ether," she replied, shrugging. "Not like I can't zap fools if I gotta, but...I dunno, it takes a lot more outta me than usual. Plus, I don't wanna get water in my joints. I dunno what having rusty shoulders is like, and I wanna keep it that way."

Zeke hummed in thought.

"Well, much as I'd love to stay in here all day- for your sake and mine- we're fresh out of food." His foot tapped against a miserable, deflated bag in front of him, its bounty of slightly stale bread long since devoured. "Either we make the trek to town and hope someone'll cut us a deal, or we do a bit of monster hunting."

Pandoria's face screwed up at that second option. Sure, meat was a hell of a lot more appealing than the Zekenator's Unbuttered Bread Special, Now With Even Less Filling, but...well. If she cooked, her electricity meant they'd skip past well-done and go straight to charred to ash, and Zeke always insisted on using the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher to cut the meat whenever  _he_ cooked it, leaving them with about two mouthfuls of edible meal surviving his assault.

"Town it is, then. The less fighting I have to do, the better," she said, hopping to her feet, with Zeke following suit.

They took exactly one step forward, standing at the cave's entrance before grinding to a halt, neither of them eager to take that first soggy step into the outside world. Zeke looked towards Pandoria, her face one of resigned exasperation at her soaked fate, as he stroked his chin in thought.

He didn't want to go out there just as much as she did, but her ether flow being disrupted could prove to be... _a problem_  if they ran into any trouble on the way there. Going alone wasn't an option, but clearly they needed to keep Pandoria dry as well.

Zeke felt he had quite the cunning solution to this problem, if he did say so himself.

Without a word, he slid his coat off, leaving his upper body clad in nothing but a thick layer of extraneous belts. He moved in close to her, lowering a good amount of the coat over her head while still leaving some room for himself to duck underneath it, the garment now serving as a makeshift umbrella. Pandoria, becoming aware of the massive coat looming over her head, and its owner looming even closer, felt her face turn a bright red.

"Uh, my Prince? You're kinda  _close_ ," she said, a quick flicker of her lightbulbs giving away her embarrassment at their sudden proximity, and also her Prince's shirtlessness because  _come on._

"Needs must, Pandy. We can't get you wet, and I, personally, don't  _want_ to be wet. So, here I am," he said, his calm, concise explanation effectively disguising the fact that he was relishing everything about this.

"Makes sense. I guess."

"Exactly. Now, we don't want the coat slipping off, so we'd better take this nice and slowly," Zeke said, a single foot lurching forward.

"Oh yeah, totally. And, y'know, this is a big coat and all, but still, we'd better keep close, huh?" Pandoria said, inching a little closer to him as she began to walk.

"You're quite right, Pandy, quite right indeed. Terribly awkward, I'm sure, but we really have no other choice."

"Yep. Just gotta do it."

This perpetual back-and-forth of downplaying the fact that they were both very much enjoying what amounted to snuggling under a misshapen umbrella continued for the entire hour or so it took them to reach town. Zeke, as was inevitable for his luck, caught a cold from recklessly wandering around shirtless in the rain. They felt it was worth it.


End file.
